Instead of better, stronger, faster, the mantra for the new wave of bionic devices is for motors that are smaller, quieter and more robust.

Steve Austin -- a la Lee Majors -- would be proud. The futuristic bionic limb technology that he used to thwart the bad guys, including Sasquatch, in that 1970s TV show is finally coming to pass. But instead of helping a lone astronaut, the present-day bionic prosthetics aim to help thousands of military amputees returning from war, among others who lose limbs each year.

Indeed, Bloomberg is reporting that after four years and an $8 million grant from the U.S. Army’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center , researchers are testing a bionic leg that can tackle slopes, stairs and in-chair movement markedly better than existing devices. Researchers led by Levi Hargrove from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Center for Bionic Medicine recently reported results with this powerful prosthetic in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Test subjects report using and controlling the new bionic leg as if it were a live limb. By contrast, most prosthetic legs are little more than walking sticks with springs. And robotic prosthetics, while better, use remote controls and embedded sensors to determine weight loads and orientation only. But the thought-controlled device harness the user’s own nerves to maneuver the prosthetic leg as if it were a live limb, Bloomberg reported.

But instead of better, stronger faster – the credo of Steve Austin and the “Six Million Dollar Man” -- the mantra for the new wave of bionic devices is for motors that are smaller, quieter and more robust.

Background according to Bloomberg: More refinements are needed to make the thought-controlled bionic leg commercially viable. Prototypes of the prosthetic are restricted to lab and clinic use for testing – at least for now.

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